Razorback Defense Kept Backup QB Dexter Williams, Tulsa Offense In Check

FAYETTEVILLE — Tulsa backup QB Dexter Williams was thrust into the spotlight against Arkansas on Saturday and didn't have a chance to do all that much in the way of moving the football.

A glance at the box score correctly suggest that Williams played fine on Saturday. He completed 20 of his 32 passes for 176 yards and had Tulsa's only running play of 10 yards or more on a 15-yard run that allowed Tulsa to score from the one-yard-line on the next snap.

But Arkansas' defense overwhelmed Williams and Tulsa's offensive line on Saturday, giving up only 241 total yards of offense in a 34-6 victory. The Golden Hurricane punted on all five of its first half possession, and its only touchdown drive of the night came on a series that was helped greatly by a roughing the passer penalty on Hunter Osborne.

Arkansas linebacker Ben Bogle before a first half snap against Tulsa. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs On SI Images

That drive was one of only four on which TU even crossed into Arkansas territory, and two of those drives ended in forced fumbles by Arkansas. The Razorbacks won the turnover battle (2-1) for the first time this season on Saturday, forced seven punts on 11 Tulsa possessions and ended the game with a turnover on downs.

Ben Bogle and Shelton Lewis each recovered a fumble for Arkansas — the former being forced by DL Antonio Sandel-Bascomb — while Lewis could've had an interception that went through his hands.

"Defense, what they did, we've got to be able to do that," said Arkansas head coach Ryan Silverfield. "They took some shots down the field. Guys made some plays on the ball, so yeah, I think we got to find every bit of positivity and continue to grow from it."

"You gotta make somebody miss, you gotta have an explosive play to keep your team in it," said Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb. "And we never had that. The lack of offensive efficiency kept our defense on the field all day."

Saturday could be considered Arkansas' best defensive performance of the season, given that it came against an FBS opponent that had showed life offensively in its first three games.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane QB Dexter Williams II scans the field pre-snap against Arkansas. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs On SI Images

The game would've looked different had Tulsa starting QB Baylor Hayes played, but Arkansas rattled Tulsa's offensive line to the point where it's hard to believe the Golden Hurricane would've scored much more than they did.

"I was proud of Dexter," Lamb said. "I thought he played fine. He's got to step up in the pocket more, but his numbers were fine. Completed a lot of passes. Didn't have much of a run game to help him. I thought he gave us a chance tonight, and we didn't do much around him."

Indeed, Arkansa kept Tulsa's star-studded run game in check. While Damari Alston did find the end zone, he was held to just 27 rushing yards on nine carries, and Tulsa as a whole had only 23 carries for 65 yards (2.8 yards per carry.)

"We took a step forward," said DB Jaheim "Joker" Johnson, who had six tackles and a pass breakup on Saturday night. "Of course, you got to keep climbing. You 've got to keep having 11 guys a t a time doing their job, pretty much. Like, tonight we communicated a lot better tonight.

"We had a lot of guys playing fast, green, doing their job, just being in the right spot at the right time, just believing in Coach Roberts and just playing whatever he calls and just executing. It was pretty good."

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